
I am a huge fan of the blog Welcome Home Taylor, which led me to Un-Fancy, a blog about minimalist style and capsule wardrobes (to overly summarise).
Ever since I started reading Emily Martin's Inside A Black Apple, and her old, now abandoned, fashion blog, Some Girls Wander, I wanted to be a style blogger. This was strengthened by the discovery of A Beautiful Mess in early 2012, and LieBeMarlene, as well as the Snail & The Cyclops.
Up until just recently, I had the wardrobe of a style blogger. That is, the quantity, not the quality... And I wasn't even wearing a tenth of it.
Having a cluttered wardrobe is useless to a person with the style sense of your average two-year-old who really just wants their own way, and who is pleased by little more than your cringed face. I throw on pjs or yoga pants at home, dresses on my days off, and blouses / slacks / business skirts to work.
My personality doesn't match the minimalist lifestyle. I love keeping every little thing, and things quite often make me happy.
Example 1) Books: We have a home library, which is to say we have a whole double-room dedicated to books, books, and more books.
Example 2) Games: Peter and I have bonded over these from our very first date, and the enrich our lives, providing us with experiences outside our own. We have nearly every console set up and ready to go, and I love this.
Example 3) Owls: I have a pretty solid collection of owls, and I probably wouldn't change this for the world. They spread out over two rooms; the library and my little study. While I probably do regret some of them, deciding which ones to give away at this point would be like deciding which child to get rid. The attachment is there, and it is too late.
Example 4) Kitchen Appliances: A coffee maker, a sandwich press, a grill, waffle maker, mixer, ice-cream maker, Soup N'Go blender, dehydrator. They all have their season and uses. I could live without home-made ice-cream, waffles, and soup, but what kind of world would that be? What kind of "me" would I be? I love dabbling in the kitchen, and the combination of being a vegan and Coeliac means that if you ever want to eat something again, you are probably going to have to make it yourself. Case closed.
So, now that you've heard my defense of why things make me happy, I am here to say something contrary. Some things are completely unnecessary, and my wardrobe was one of them. Over a series of days, I tried and retried on things, and gave myself one last chance to wear them if I wanted to keep them. I made excuses not to wear them but keep them, but instead I turfed them out. (Who needs a 3-quarter cardigan? You are either wearing a cardigan because it is cold, or you take it off because it is hot. There is no room for inbetween items.)
There were, however, a few things I kept for sentimental reasons. The green-gray army jacket I will never wear (but was popular in my last year of high school), that I bought when I had a fascination with M*A*S*H, and wanted nothing more in my life than to marry Hawkeye or B.J.. The dress that I wore when I first met Peter (and now doesn't fit because my thyroid is temperamental, and ice-cream is nice). I folded them up and placed them in an old, vintage suitcase under the bed.
It took about a week all up, and I got rid of 60% of my wardrobe. I decided to wait until next winter to completely sort my winter clothes, since at the moment there are things I am purely not wearing due to my weight trouble (but I'll probably never be a size 6 again. I have made my peace with that.)
All along I was hoping to create a minimalist wardrobe, but that is impossible for me for a few reasons.
1) Sydney weather is crazy! We get Summer days in mid-Winter, and days below 20 degrees in the Summer. Spring and Autumn never have any idea what they are doing, which means dressing has to be done last minute (and is quite often wrong, regardless...)
2) I am a multi-faceted person who plays a number of roles and has a number of jobs. I need home items, gym gear, work outfits, casual outing clothes, and concert/opera-appropriate wear, meaning I need five wardrobes, regardless of season. I decided to only give hanging space to the last three, to help save room.
If you need help mimimalising your wardrobe, even if, like me,you wimp out from committing to it completely, check out the following articles:
How To Build A Capsule Wardrobe (Un-Fancy)
5 Tips For In-Store Shopping (Welcome Home)
Cleaning Out Your Closet (Welcome Home)
Don't forget to check out Taylor's blog regardless, because she is a wonderful girl with a lovely sense of style, humour, and a sweet-tooth with baking skills to match.
Best wishes, and enjoy!
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